Swiss watchdog expects details on Facebook's Libra by end of month

FILE PHOTO: Representations of virtual currency are displayed in front of the Libra logo in this illustration picture, June 21, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland’s privacy watchdog expects to receive details on Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency by the end of this month, a spokeswoman for the agency said on Tuesday.

Facebook’s plans to launch Libra next year have prompted warnings from politicians, regulators and central bankers that it must be closely regulated to avoid any disruption to the international financial system.

Facebook’s Libra project head David Marcus told U.S. senators earlier this year he expected the Swiss authority to be Libra’s privacy regulator, yet the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) had at that time yet to be contacted by Libra’s organizers.

The FDPIC in July asked the Libra Association, the Geneva-based group which is to oversee the proposed digital currency, for further information.

A spokeswoman for the FDPIC said the agency had set a deadline of end-August for the Association to provide the requested information. She said the Association had in late July promised a response.

The Libra Association did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

A U.S. congressional delegation is set to visit Switzerland this week to discuss the project.